New Pamphlet : "Rebellious Spirit : Maria Occhipinti and the Ragusa Anti-Draft Revolt of 1945"

italy / switzerland | history of anarchism | press release Friday May 02, 2008 17:33 by KSL - Kate Sharpley Library

Out now, a collection of articles on the Ragusa anti-draft revolt of 1945: "Rebellious Spirit : Maria Occhipinti and the Ragusa Anti-Draft Revolt of 1945". As well as the revolt and its aftermath (including an extract from Occhipinti's story of being imprisoned afterwards) it includes writings by and about some of its leading figures, Maria Occhipinti and Franco Leggio. Find out about a time when "Stop the War" meant "Start the Revolution".

Ragusa, Sicily, 1945. Mussolini's fascist regime had fallen apart, with many of his backers turning 'democratic' and hoping to prevent a revolution with the help of the allied armies and Communist Party. After five years of war, their attempts to create a new Italian army are met with evasion and resistance.
Maria Occhipinti began the Ragusa anti-draft revolt of January, 1945 by laying down in front of an army truck carrying arrested draftees, who then escaped. A four-day insurrection followed, with the rich dispossessed, until the Italian army was able to retake the city.
Maria Occhipinti served nearly two years' prison for her part in the revolt. Afterwards, she travelled endlessly, seeking her own freedom – and a free world. Here we present texts on the 1945 revolt, anti-fascism in Ragusa and the lives of both Maria Occhipinti and fellow Ragusan anarchist rebel Franco Leggio.

Rebellious Spirit : Maria Occhipinti and the Ragusa Anti-Draft Revolt of 1945
edited by Paul Sharkey and Anna Key

Contents:
1945, When The Sicilian People Declared "War On War" by Pippo Gurrieri
No To The Draft! : Maria Occhipinti and the Ragusa revolt of January 1945 by Meno Occhipinti
Interview by Letizia Giarratana, Pippo Gurrieri, Meno Occhipinti
The Benedictines by Maria Occhipinti [extract]
Interview With Franco Leggio, Sicilian Anarchist And One Of The Ringleaders In The Ragusa Uprising Of January 1945 by Stefano Fabbri
The Ragusa Massacre In 1921
The Ancestry of Anarchist Antifascism in and around Ragusa
The Life of An Anarchist: Franco Leggio by Pippo Gurrieri

ISBN-13: 9781873605592
Anarchist sources #9
Three pounds (two pounds to subscribers) or three dollars from:

Kate Sharpley Library
BM Hurricane, London, WC1N 3XX, UK
PMB 820, 2425 Channing Way, Berkeley CA 94704, USA